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    inthebox's Avatar
    inthebox Posts: 787, Reputation: 179
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    #121

    Aug 8, 2008, 09:00 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by asking
    This is a strange assertion, since literally every gene in your body represents a long series mutations. Humans have approximately 30,000 genes. Each one is the product of many mutations, some of which happened in the last ten thousand years, but most of which occurred hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago. A few of our genes evolved literally billions of years ago. Every one of us is just a bunch of random mutations that gradually accumulated to form a functional organism.


    Mutations, evolutions way of adding information? That may be helpful in some other environment?

    alzheimers
    Gene Mutation Predicts Alzheimer's


    breast cancer
    Breast cancer - Genetics Home Reference


    colon cancer
    p53 mutations in colorectal cancer. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990] - PubMed Result

    Digeorge
    eMedicine - DiGeorge Syndrome : Article by Suguru Imaeda

    Lou Gherigs
    Prevalence of SOD1 mutations in the Italian ALS population -- Chiò et al. 70 (7): 533 -- Neurology


    Genes and disease
    lists of various diseases


    The 46 human chromosomes (22 pairs of autosomal chromosomes and 2 sex chromosomes) between them house almost 3 billion base pairs of DNA that contains about 30,000 - 40,000 protein-coding genes. This is a much smaller number than predicted - only twice as many as in the worm or fly model organisms. The coding regions make up less than 5% of the genome (the function of the remaining DNA is not clear) and some chromosomes have a higher density of genes than others.

    Now is it clear how mutations, natural selection, and a couple billion years caused single cell to "evolve" into human beings;)



    As to adding information:

    PLoS Genetics: A Mutation in the Myostatin Gene Increases Muscle Mass and Enhances Racing Performance in Heterozygote Dogs

    Here we describe a new mutation in MSTN found in the whippet dog breed that results in a double-muscled phenotype known as the “bully” whippet. Individuals with this phenotype carry two copies of a two-base-pair deletion in the third exon of MSTN leading to a premature stop codon at amino acid 313.
    Hmmm, the information was already there!
    WVHiflyer's Avatar
    WVHiflyer Posts: 384, Reputation: 34
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    #122

    Aug 8, 2008, 09:17 PM
    It's a genetic mutation that causes sickle cell also. But it's only a problem if you have 2 copies. With only 1 you have immunity to malaria - a beneficial mutation. And, as I've posted before, there are stressor genes whose function is to make sure proteins, etc are there to try and correct errors in mitochondria. Sometimes when they fail, a bunch of stored mutations are 'set free' and maybe a new char appears. Whether it is beneficial will be borne out by the environmental pressures (selection) or by whether it interferes with a vital function. Obviously, not all do.

    As for genes already there... that's why, for example, some whales and snakes have vestigial hip bones. So what?
    michealb's Avatar
    michealb Posts: 484, Reputation: 129
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    #123

    Aug 8, 2008, 09:54 PM
    Blonds and redheads were a mutation, so there are beneficial mutations as well. :)

    Just cause you can point to bad mutations really doesn't prove anything because what is bad in one case may be good in another. The mutation doesn't design it's self good or bad it just is and the environment decides whether that trait gets passed down or not.
    asking's Avatar
    asking Posts: 2,673, Reputation: 660
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    #124

    Aug 8, 2008, 09:58 PM
    I don't know what to say. inthebox actually believes that mutations only cause diseases and don't do anything else? He doesn't even know what a gene is? Seriously? Where is SassyT to explain this?
    Credendovidis's Avatar
    Credendovidis Posts: 1,593, Reputation: 66
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    #125

    Aug 9, 2008, 05:08 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by asking
    I don't know what to say. inthebox actually believes that mutations only cause diseases and don't do anything else? He doesn't even know what a gene is? Seriously? Where is SassyT to explain this?
    And does that really surprise you?
    This is what this topic is precisely about : the lack of knowledge of creationists and their organisations, and the emptiness and/or deliberate dishonesty of their argumentation.

    :rolleyes:

    ·
    inthebox's Avatar
    inthebox Posts: 787, Reputation: 179
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    #126

    Aug 9, 2008, 11:26 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by WVHiflyer
    It's a genetic mutation that causes sickle cell also. But it's only a problem if you have 2 copies. With only 1 you have immunity to malaria

    The SCIENCE actually proves you wrong :p



    Clinical malaria and sickle cell disease among mul...[Pediatrics. 2007] - PubMed Result

    The 3 other siblings had sickle cell trait, 2 of whom had complicated malaria. Patients who have sickle cell disease and are infected with malaria are prone to hyperhemolytic crisis; therefore, this complication should be anticipated

    The hemolysis was actually worse!


    eMedicine - Sickle Cell Anemia : Article by Ariel Distenfeld


    While children with sickle cell trait Hb SA seem to have a milder form of falciparum malaria, those with homozygous Hb S have a severe form that is associated with very high mortality rate.


    There is no immunity. ;)
    inthebox's Avatar
    inthebox Posts: 787, Reputation: 179
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    #127

    Aug 9, 2008, 11:35 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by asking
    I don't know what to say. inthebox actually believes that mutations only cause diseases and don't do anything else? He doesn't even know what a gene is? Seriously? Where is SassyT to explain this?



    So this is your response to the SCIENCE, I linked?:confused:

    A tactic to divert attention from the fact that genetic mutations are harmful.

    If you believe that genetic mutations can be "beneficial" why does the actual science
    show the contrary? People intuitively know that mutations are harmful.

    That is why premenopausal women get screened before even a simple x-ray, because no one wants to pass on mutation[s.]

    Maybe you are confusing X-Men fantasy type of "beneficial" mutations :p
    inthebox's Avatar
    inthebox Posts: 787, Reputation: 179
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    #128

    Aug 9, 2008, 11:40 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by Credendovidis
    And does that really surprise you?
    This is what this topic is precisely about : the lack of knowledge of creationists and their organisations, and the emptiness and/or deliberate dishonesty of their argumentation.

    :rolleyes:

    ·
    So, when someone questions the role of mutations in evolution, and intelligently backs up it up with the objective scientific facts, this is the type of response that evolutionists give :confused:

    Cred you are projecting :D
    asking's Avatar
    asking Posts: 2,673, Reputation: 660
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    #129

    Aug 9, 2008, 12:14 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by inthebox
    So this is your response to the SCIENCE, I linked?:confused:
    I don't have any problem with the science, but you are cherry picking. What you did is like linking to a list of news articles about car accidents to show that riding in a car is always deadly. It can be, but it isn't always, obviously.

    A tactic to divert attention from the fact that genetic mutations are harmful.
    They can be, but since every gene in your body is the product of extensive mutation, they obviously aren't always.

    If you believe that genetic mutations can be "beneficial" why does the actual science
    show the contrary? People intuitively know that mutations are harmful.
    "The" actual science doesn't show the contrary. Mutations can be good or bad. It's natural selection's job to let the good ones accumulate and weed out the bad ones.

    Here's a good one: The gene for hemoglobin comes in several different forms, each one useful under different circumstances and each one a mutant with respect to the others. Babies start with fetal hemoglobin and later switch to adult hemoglobin since they handle oxygen differently in the womb than outside breathing air--to give one of thousands of examples of useful mutations.

    That is why [reproductive] women get screened before even a simple x-ray, because no one wants to pass on mutation[s.]
    They should screen men too. (They have genes too.)
    Credendovidis's Avatar
    Credendovidis Posts: 1,593, Reputation: 66
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    #130

    Aug 9, 2008, 05:31 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by inthebox
    So, when someone questions ... and intelligently backs up it up ....
    "... someone ... intelligently ..." Are you really referring to yourself here??

    :D :D :D :D :D

    ·
    WVHiflyer's Avatar
    WVHiflyer Posts: 384, Reputation: 34
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    #131

    Aug 9, 2008, 05:58 PM
    Evolution: Library: A Mutation Story


    A Mutation Story:
    A gene known as HbS was the center of a medical and evolutionary detective story that began in the middle 1940s in Africa. Doctors noticed that patients who had sickle cell anemia, a serious hereditary blood disease, were more likely to survive malaria , a disease which kills some 1.2 million people every year. What was puzzling was why sickle cell anemia was so prevalent in some African populations.


    How could a "bad" gene -- the mutation that causes the sometimes lethal sickle cell disease -- also be beneficial? On the other hand, if it didn't provide some survival advantage, why had the sickle gene persisted in such a high frequency in the populations that had it?

    ... Every person has two copies of the hemoglobin gene. Usually, both genes make a normal hemoglobin protein. When someone inherits two mutant copies of the hemoglobin gene, the abnormal form of the hemoglobin protein causes the red blood cells to lose oxygen and warp into a sickle shape during periods of high activity...

    But it takes two copies of the mutant gene, one from each parent, to give someone the full-blown disease. Many people have just one copy, the other being normal. Those who carry the sickle cell trait do not suffer nearly as severely from the disease.


    Researchers found that the sickle cell gene is especially prevalent in areas of Africa hard-hit by malaria. In some regions, as much as 40 percent of the population carries at least one HbS gene.


    It turns out that, in these areas, HbS carriers have been naturally selected , because the trait confers some resistance to malaria. Their red blood cells, containing some abnormal hemoglobin, tend to sickle when they are infected by the malaria parasite. Those infected cells flow through the spleen, which culls them out because of their sickle shape -- and the parasite is eliminated along with them.


    Scientists believe the sickle cell gene appeared and disappeared in the population several times, but became permanently established after a particularly vicious form of malaria jumped from animals to humans in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

    In areas where the sickle cell gene is common, the immunity conferred has become a selective advantage. Unfortunately, it is also a disadvantage because the chances of being born with sickle cell anemia are relatively high.


    ... This situation is a stark example of genetic compromise, or an evolutionary "trade-off."
    Alty's Avatar
    Alty Posts: 28,317, Reputation: 5972
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    #132

    Aug 9, 2008, 06:04 PM
    Flyer, I found that story truly fascinating. Thanks for sharing it. :)
    WVHiflyer's Avatar
    WVHiflyer Posts: 384, Reputation: 34
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    #133

    Aug 9, 2008, 07:54 PM
    Welcome, Alty. I had to counter box's partial story.
    inthebox's Avatar
    inthebox Posts: 787, Reputation: 179
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    #134

    Aug 10, 2008, 03:41 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by WVHiflyer
    Evolution: Library: A Mutation Story


    A Mutation Story:
    A gene known as HbS was the center of a medical and evolutionary detective story that began in the middle 1940s in Africa. Doctors noticed that patients who had sickle cell anemia, a serious hereditary blood disease, were more likely to survive malaria , a disease which kills some 1.2 million people every year. What was puzzling was why sickle cell anemia was so prevalent in some African populations.


    How could a "bad" gene -- the mutation that causes the sometimes lethal sickle cell disease -- also be beneficial? On the other hand, if it didn't provide some survival advantage, why had the sickle gene persisted in such a high frequency in the populations that had it?

    ... Every person has two copies of the hemoglobin gene. Usually, both genes make a normal hemoglobin protein. When someone inherits two mutant copies of the hemoglobin gene, the abnormal form of the hemoglobin protein causes the red blood cells to lose oxygen and warp into a sickle shape during periods of high activity...

    But it takes two copies of the mutant gene, one from each parent, to give someone the full-blown disease. Many people have just one copy, the other being normal. Those who carry the sickle cell trait do not suffer nearly as severely from the disease.


    Researchers found that the sickle cell gene is especially prevalent in areas of Africa hard-hit by malaria. In some regions, as much as 40 percent of the population carries at least one HbS gene.


    It turns out that, in these areas, HbS carriers have been naturally selected , because the trait confers some resistance to malaria. Their red blood cells, containing some abnormal hemoglobin, tend to sickle when they are infected by the malaria parasite. Those infected cells flow through the spleen, which culls them out because of their sickle shape -- and the parasite is eliminated along with them.


    Scientists believe the sickle cell gene appeared and disappeared in the population several times, but became permanently established after a particularly vicious form of malaria jumped from animals to humans in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

    In areas where the sickle cell gene is common, the immunity conferred has become a selective advantage. Unfortunately, it is also a disadvantage because the chances of being born with sickle cell anemia are relatively high.


    ... This situation is a stark example of genetic compromise, or an evolutionary "trade-off."


    Your link is obviously biased toward evolution.
    Even they cannot get their facts straight. Notice the bolded in your link :)


    eMedicine - Sickle Cell Anemia : Article by Ariel Distenfeld


    While children with sickle cell trait Hb SA seem to have a milder form of falciparum malaria, those with homozygous Hb S have a severe form that is associated with very high mortality rate.
    Clinical malaria and sickle cell disease among mul...[Pediatrics. 2007] - PubMed Result


    The 3 other siblings had sickle cell trait , 2 of whom had complicated malaria. Patients who have sickle cell disease and are infected with malaria are prone to hyperhemolytic crisis;

    Both my links are MEDICAL - that is practical and objective with no bias toward ID or creationism or evolution - just the straight facts.



    Sickle cell trait does not confer immunity



    I have cared for Sickle cell patients in crisis. There is no comfort to them, while they are in excrutiating pain, to know that there is a malaria induced selective advantage for sickle cell trait, :( and because of that, their parents have a advantage, while they got the disease.



    Regardless, the fact remains that sickle cell anemia 1] does not add to genetic information 2] is a substitution mutation that causes human morbidity and mortality.
    michealb's Avatar
    michealb Posts: 484, Reputation: 129
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    #135

    Aug 10, 2008, 05:11 PM
    Found this it was too funny not to post in this topic.
    List of scientists who became creationists after studying the evidence - RationalWiki
    Credendovidis's Avatar
    Credendovidis Posts: 1,593, Reputation: 66
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    #136

    Aug 11, 2008, 04:36 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by michealb
    Found this it was too funny not to post in this topic.
    I waited and waited and waited... must be something wrong with my connection...

    :D

    ·
    asking's Avatar
    asking Posts: 2,673, Reputation: 660
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    #137

    Aug 11, 2008, 08:58 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by michealb
    I like the tumbleweeds. :)
    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #138

    Aug 11, 2008, 09:01 AM
    Needs more crickets. :D
    Alty's Avatar
    Alty Posts: 28,317, Reputation: 5972
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    #139

    Aug 11, 2008, 10:38 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by michealb
    Needs color, the grey tumbleweeds are boring. ;):)
    Credendovidis's Avatar
    Credendovidis Posts: 1,593, Reputation: 66
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    #140

    Aug 11, 2008, 12:45 PM
    Now something positive about Michealb's link, please!!

    1 - All names are easy to remember !

    2 - No race, gender, or sex differences !

    3 - Political views are evenly spread !

    4 - Display speed and direction are constant !

    5 -.. .

    Anyone any other positives ?

    :D :D :D :D :D

    ·

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